THE FAMILY of murdered Sophie Toscan du Plantier yesterday urged English journalist Ian Bailey to travel to France to clarify a report that he knew the murdered French film producer contrary to what he told a libel trial in 2003.
Jean Pierre Gazeau, an uncle of Ms Toscan du Plantier and president of the Association for the Truth about the Murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier described the assertions that Mr Bailey was introduced to Ms Toscan du Plantier as “important information”.
“We welcome this report because we consider it very significant because throughout his libel action against the newspapers, Ian Bailey denied having ever met or known Sophie and we find that very strange and puzzling,” said Mr Gazeau.
“It would be good if Mr Bailey were to come to France as a witness and testify before the judicial inquiry being held by Judge Patrick Gachon as it would give him an opportunity to clarify what is a clear contradiction,” he said.
Mr Gazeau said the statements by French film producer, Guy Girard and west Cork man, Leo Bolger reported in yesterday’s Irish Times that Mr Bailey knew Ms Toscan du Plantier raised questions about his account of his behaviour on the morning after the murder. During his testimony at the libel action at Cork Circuit Court in December 2003, Mr Bailey said he had received a phone call at about lunch hour from Irish Examiner journalist Eddie Cassidy saying there had been a murder and a body had been found in Toormore.
“He said it was a foreign national, possibly French. He asked me to go to the area to find out what I could,” said Mr Bailey, adding that he suggested to his partner, Jules Thomas, that she would come with him as she was a good photographer, although she didn’t do news work.
He told Judge Patrick Moran at the hearing that they drove to Toormore but on the way they met Shirley Foster, who lived locally, and asked her had she seen any gardaí and she pointed them to where she had come from.
“She asked me what was I doing. I said that I was there on behalf of the Cork Examiner. She indicated that the guards were down the lane that she had come from. I came to a point where I could see a number of houses. There were guards and quite a lot of activity,” he said.
Mr Bailey told the libel action how he later called to the local post office and inquired as to who owned the house and took the number of the post mistress so he could ring back later and get the name of the person living there
However, Mr Gazeau said this account by Mr Bailey where he claimed not to know the identity of the person living in the house was strange if he knew Ms Toscan du Plantier and knew where she lived, as asserted by both Mr Girard and Mr Bolger.
Contacted by The Irish Times, Mr Bailey’s solicitor, Frank Buttimer, said he had no comment to make in relation to the family’s suggestion that his client should travel to France.